| Keywords |
Walking shoes ; Balance pod ; Ankle joint ; Energy consumption |
| Abstract |
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of walking shoes equipped with a balance pod during walking exercise. The functional shoes equipped with a balance pod was designed to make the ankle joint unstable during walking, so the more and variable muscles could be recruited. Twenty subjects were randomly assigned to walking shoes group (WG: n=10) and control group (CON: n=10) for the 1st test, and the grouping was changed to the other for the 2nd test after 1 week of default period. The heart rate, blood lactate, infrared thermography, and ground reaction force were evaluated to find the difference between the groups. The results of the study were as follow: 1) The area of increased low extremity skin temperature for WG was wider than that of CON. 2) The amplitude of low extremity skin temperature change for WG was significantly greater than that of CON(p<.05). 3) The time duration from heel strike peak to toe off peak was significantly different between two groups(p<.05). In conclusion, walking shoes equipped with a balance pod might be considered to expect some positive effects in activating more leg muscles for higher energy consumption, and it may affects on the shape of the legs. |